{{Animedexbody|EP035|Dragonair|Ash's Pokédex|Dragonair, a Dragon Pokémon. A legendary Pokémon that can make rain or snow fall at its will. It can even fly without wings.}}

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{{Animedexbody|EP035|Dragonair|Ash's Pokédex|{{tt|Dragonair, a Dragon Pokémon. A legendary Pokémon that can make rain or snow fall at its will. It can even fly without wings.|Translated from the Japanese version}}}}

Biology

Physiology

Dragonair are long, serpentine Pokémon that can be up to 13 feet long. They have dark, glossy eyes and a small horn on their foreheads. On either side of their heads are small feathery wings. Dragonair are covered in sapphire blue scales, except for their bellies, which are a bright white. A feature unique to Dragonair are the small blue orbs that appear under their necks and on the ends of their tails. They somewhat resemble larger versions of their pre-evolutionary forms.

Gender differences

None.

Special abilities

Dragonair give out a distinct, gentle aura that can be felt by humans. As seen in Pikachu's Rescue Adventure, Dragonair seem to be able to make their wings grow to large sizes in order to fly, causing many people to see these Pokémon flying. Dragonair also host a large amount of energy within their bodies, which they discharge from their crystals, allowing them to change the weather. Dragonair's orbs can be used as a source of light.

Behavior

Dragonair are docile Pokémon that give out a gentle aura that can be felt by people nearby. Although shy and protective of their habitat, they are also very powerful dragon Pokémon. Dragonair have the ability to shed their skin, ridding their bodies of unwanted ailments.

Diet

In the anime

Major appearances

Other

Dragonair first appeared in the banned episode, EP035, as a Dratini the warden of the Safari Zone was protecting. Over the 30 years since Kaiser last saw the elusive Dragon-type, it evolved into Dragonair. It also had a child Dratini.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

In Pokémon Adventures, Lance owns two Dragonair, one of which he caught previously, the other stolen and brainwashed. The latter was sought by Yellow for surfing, as it was offered as a prize in a surfing contest. Many other Dragonair also make up the Dragon-type army that he used to ravage the land of Kanto.

Origin

It appears to be based on sea serpents or ryu, traditional Japanese dragons or Chinese dragons who bring good luck. It also appears to look like a snake. In fact, its tail makes it resemble a rattlesnake. Its wing-like ears on its head resembles the wings on Greek god Hermes' shoes, and its long, snakelike body may be a reference to the snakes on his scepter. It's also very likely that it was based on the imugi (also spelt imoogi), which is a proto-dragon that resembles a snake and lives in water or caves much like Dragonair. After a imugi lives a thousand years a jewel (called a Yeouiju) will fall from the sky and if the imugi catches it, it will become a full fledged dragon, which may be where Dragonair acquires its jewels from.

The jewel on Dragonair's neck might also be a reference to the Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, in which the moon princess Kaguya-hime asks some princess to bring her back some items, one of which includes a colored jewel from a dragon's neck.

Name origin

Dragonair may be a combination of dragon and air (referring to its ability to change the weather or to its air of grace and majesty) or debonair (graceful, referring to its graceful flying capabilities). It could also make reference to a "lair", the traditional home of a dragon.

Hakuryū could be taken to mean 白竜 (white dragon). Hakuryu was also the name of the dragon-like companion of Zhu Bajie/Cho Hakkai from the legend of the Journey to the West in Buddhist lore.